Egypt denies receiving Shalit

Egyptian security officials on Wednesday denied reports that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit had been transferred from Gaza into Egypt on Tuesday evening. Egypt had been heavily involved in mediating negotiations for a prisoner release between Hamas and Israel. But head of security forces at the Rafah border crossing said the terminal had closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday and had not been opened since. Israel and Hamas on Tuesday said that they had reached a long-elusive deal to swap Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid in 2006, for 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. The deal was signed for Hamas by Nizar Awadalah in Cairo at the end of a final session which lasted 24 hours and concluded at breakfast time on Tuesday. Israeli negotiators praised the Egyptians, saying they played a vital and instrumental role in securing the deal and had facilitated its conclusion in a professional manner. Israel's relations with gypt were likely to be reinforced by the cooperation, after months of strain following the toppling of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak which stirred fears among Israelis that their peace pact could be revoked by Egypt's future leaders. According to the agreement, Israel will free 450 people in the coming days in the first phase of the exchange while Hamas releases Shalit, who was 19 when he was abducted. A further 550 Palestinians would be freed later. Under international law it is illegal for Israel, as an occupying power, to transfer Palestinians outside the occupied territory. The prisoners' rights group Addameer says Israel has detained over 650,000 Palestinians since it occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, around 20 percent of the population.